Pile of deer carcasses found in Swansboro

Illegal dumping in Swansboro has taken a turn for the macabre: A pile of deer carcasses has been found rotting by the side of an undeveloped state road.

CHRISTOPHER THOMAS Daily News Staff

Illegal dumping in Swansboro has taken a turn for the macabre: A pile of deer carcasses has been found rotting by the side of an undeveloped state road.

“It’s a blatant disrespect of the law,” said a man who lives in a nearby neighborhood. “It’s a waste of life.”

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said that on Saturday morning about 9 a.m., he saw two large puddles of blood in a vacant lot next to his home in the Swans Bluff subdivision. The carcasses were found the next day on Ffa Camp Road, about one mile from the neighborhood.

The man said he has heard gunshots near his home recently and the sight of the blood puddle confirmed for him that people were hunting illegally close to his home. It is illegal to discharge a firearm within 500 feet of a residence in Onslow County.

“There are laws in place to protect people,” he said. “(The blood) was less than 150 feet from my home. Those bullets could’ve hit my home and hurt me or my wife or my grandchildren.”

Hunting for wild game 30 minutes before sunrise and 30 minutes after sunset also is illegal in North Carolina.

One of the officials investigating the incident, Sgt. Charles Smith of the N.C. Wildlife Commission, said illegal hunting practices have become more common in the Hammocks Beach Road area, where the carcasses were found toward the end of 2013.

“I’ve worked on night hunting cases on Hammocks Beach Road before most of the houses were built there,” said Smith, a 26-year veteran with the commission. “It sort of comes and goes in that area, but there’s been a recent uptick recently.”

According to Smith, night hunting is illegal due to the danger it poses on vulnerable herds of deer and the “unfair advantage” it gives hunters since deer tend to roam freely and with more security at night. Smith also said the practice is becoming more dangerous in Onslow County due to the rapid development in recent years.

“When you’re shooting at night, you have a limited field of vision,” Smith said “If you can’t see what’s in front of you, property could be damaged and people can get hurt. Also, discharged weapons are a nuisance for people in nearby homes, especially in the early hours.”

Smith said he first learned about the dumped carcasses after getting a call from the Onslow County Sheriff’s Office, which was investigating a night hunting case.

In that case, Cody James Jennings, 22, of Tarawa Terrace, was charged on Dec. 29 with taking a deer between one half-hour after sunset and one half-hour before sunrise as well as failing to wear a seat belt and reckless driving to endanger others. He’s scheduled to appear in court next on Jan. 31.

Jennings was charged in Jones County in 2011with unlawfully taking wildlife, two counts of possessing unlawfully taken wildlife, two counts of transporting unlawfully taken wildlife, consuming alcohol underage and spotlighting deer. Jennings pleaded guilty to the spotlighting charge, but all other charges were dismissed by the state.

Jennings charges are not connected to the illegal dumping, which included more than a dozen deer and a couple of geese.

Smith said by the time he arrived, some of the bodies were decaying and a scent was emanating from them. Though Smith said carcass dumping isn’t uncommon, he said the incident near Hammocks Beach Road was the worst he’s seen all year. Smith said incidents like that are not only illegal, but shine a bad light on a necessary practice.

“It sheds a negative light on hunting,” Smith said. “Legal hunting helps manage the deer population to a safe level for deer and for people. I don’t consider people who do this to be hunters. They’re criminals.”

Smith said the impact is also detrimental to the local environment as the decomposing carcasses can pollute nearby bodies of water if they’re carried there during a storm. The related oxygen depletion can lead to the unnatural death of fish in the area.

Chris Huebner of the NC Wildlife Resources Commission said these practices are not only detrimental to the safety of games and humans, but can bring unwanted guests.

“You have the possibility of attracting a lot of animals because they’ll get an easy meal,” Huebner said. “It can bring in birds of prey like vultures as well as raccoons, foxes and coyotes. We recommend everyone dispose of their animals in a sanitary manner at a landfill or burying it in a hole.”

Smith said it’s important for those in the community to speak up when illegal hunting or dumping incidents occur, not only for the law’s sake, but for the sake of their neighbors and the local environment.

“Call us as soon as you know something,” Smith said. “Don’t call when it’s convenient, call as soon as you see something’s wrong.”

Smith advises people who witness hunting violations to contact the NC Wildlife Commission at 1-800-662-7137.

Christopher Thomas is a staff writer for the Daily News. Contact him at 910-219-8473 or Christopher.Thomas@jdnews.com.